We are pretty fortunate to live in a time when you can buy a “factory” car or truck with 6, 7, 800+ horsepower. Twenty years ago in 2000, this Mustang SVT Cobra R was the cream of the crop and was described by Motor Trend as “Ford’s fire-breather.” It featured a 385 horsepower dual overhead cam engine and ran the 1/4 mile in 12.9 seconds. There were only 300 built and they had an MSRP of $54,995 ($84,000 in today’s dollars). This particular car only shows a little over 10K original miles and can be found here on eBay with a current bid over $25,000. Being offered for sale by Cool Classics International, their website lists it for sale with an asking price of $55,000, so I would bet the eBay reserve is somewhere around that figure. Let’s take a look at this amazing survivor.
The SVT Cobra R looks really aggressive with the tall hood, ground effects, and rear spoiler. As mentioned before, there were only 300 of these cars produced in 2000 and the 600 SVT dealers entered a lottery for the chance to sell one. The only color option was red and most buyers probably ended up paying more than the MSRP. You can read Motor Trend’s road test here on motortrend.com.
Here is a great shot of the 5.4-liter DOHC V8. The engine had a 6500 rpm red-line and featured 385/385 horsepower and torque ratings. The big V8 was fit using new engine mounts and lowered cross-member with the cowl hood. Exhaust flows out through short-tube headers, an x-pipe, and three Borla mufflers exiting in front of the rear tires. The transmission is a 6-speed Tremec T-56 with beefed-up internals. While the zero to sixty acceleration numbers aren’t too impressive by today’s standards, they weren’t too far off from the 2000 Corvette. In fact, the 1/4 mile time for the Cobra R was four-tenths quicker.
With only 10K miles showing on the odometer, the interior doesn’t look as pristine as you would expect. The carpet needs to be vacuumed and overall, it needs a little attention. The seats are Recaros and the interior is completely stock with the exception of a removable roll bar and 5-point racing harnesses.
Overall, these cars look really sporty. I’m not sure if a prospective buyer will be willing to shell out $50K+ on this example, but it is probably the best one of the 300 made. What do you think of this car?
Nice car , very fun to drive but not at 50 grand.
As a long time die-hard Mustang fan,this is a gorgeous machine,but I’ve strongly disliked the ricer-boy rear spoiler since this car debuted.Even if it IS functional for downforce or whatever,I’d remove it on day one of ownership.(But obviously keep it tucked away for future collectability/resale value of the car)
It cost $84,000 in 2020 dollars new. We’ll see where the final gavel comes down but I bet you it’s around half that. Another illustration that cars are really not a good investment most of the time and should be driven and enjoyed.
They should have made the back seat, a/c & p/w optional for better performance.
Today you can buy an OH Valve small block 350 making 400 hp/400 ft lbs from Year One for $3200 delivered, using a carburetor.
I bet a lot of old Camaros,Novas, etc. will get those transplanted eventually.
I was able to drive one when these Cobra R’s were new. I really liked them, but when I heard what dealer mark up was, I couldn’t believe it. Almost every one sold was locked away, guaranteed investment car. I have never seen one driving on the street. Guess all the owner’s didn’t want any additional miles put on, could hurt future value. And that my friends is why I’ll never own a show winning car. I have to drive every car I own. No trailer queen in my garage.
Meh.
I do remember when this came out along with the new Lightning pickup truck. It was an exciting time. It was the beginning of power and excitement coming back to production cars.
55K! Ikes!
I spoke to an owner a few years back at a show. After years of sitting on his Cobra R he was (justifiably) upset Ford/SVT released the Terminator Cobra. I know the mission is different but the Terminator is a lot easier to move even if they don’t command the high asking price of a Cobra R. But they aren’t bargain basement either. Did I mention you can drive them?